Tony La Russa charged with DUI day before being hired by White Sox?

Tony La Russa is doing no favors to the Chicago White Sox, who took a chance by hiring him recently.

La Russa was hired by the White Sox on Oct. 29 as their next manager. ESPN reported on Monday that La Russa was charged with DUI in Arizona on Oct. 28, the day before his hiring was announced.

According to court records obtained by ESPN, La Russa’s DUI stemmed from a Feb. 24 incident near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. La Russa told an officer of the peace that he had been at dinner with friends from the Los Angeles Angels, for whom he worked at the time.

La Russa was found after an officer responded to a call. The manager ran his SUV into a curb and had a tire blow out. He refused to submit to a blood alcohol test but was taken into custody after a field sobriety test on suspicion of DUI. The officer obtained a warrant to draw some of La Russa’s blood.

La Russa’s case took eight months to process before he was eventually charged for misdemeanor DUI. He is lucky that his 2007 spring training DUI was long enough ago that it does not count toward repeat-offender status in Arizona. La Russa embarrassed himself in the 2007 DUI and struggled with the alphabet as video shows.

The White Sox are said to have been aware of the DUI charge before hiring La Russa.

La Russa led the Cardinals to a World Series victory in 2011, the last year he managed before taking the White Sox job. The 76-year-old has won three World Series as a manager and is a member of both the A’s and Cardinals Halls of Fame. His first job as a manager came with the White Sox from 1979-1986.